Clarity
by EllieLover19
Summary: One call in the middle of the night sent her flying back to L.A., all because he asked her, all because he needed her. The next thing Ellie Nash knew, she was spending a weekend away from home, filled with making amends, passion, and of course... heartache, but that's usually the things that followed when she spent time with Craig Manning. CRELLIE
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! So this story was initially going to take place prior to my "El" series that I started a few months ago on here. It was meant to depict what happened between Craig and Ellie before the series began. El is currently on pause and I have plans to bring it back later, but I thought to make this into a separate story in case there was a chance that it could spawn a whole new story away from the El series. So sit back, relax and read… and tell me what you think!

…

It scared Ellie how much she was willing to drop everything, put a complete pause on her life, all for one person. Not her former alcoholic mom, not her still recovering, PTSD stricken father… but Craig Manning, the rockstar, the lady's man, the recovering cocaine addict… the boy who broke her heart over and over again.

Ever since L.A., they hadn't spoken much. Two or three text conversations or phone calls, just to see how the other was doing, and maybe one Skype session on a boring Friday night… but it was never anything serious. They weren't dating… they were still friends, despite the kiss they had shared at the airport. Neither of them had even brought up that little incident ever since; they just carried on, just like they always did throughout the years of their complex friendship.

Now it had been almost 4 months since L.A. and Ellie had gotten a call at almost 2 in the morning. Luckily she was still awake, working on an essay for her Advanced Journalism class, so rest wasn't exactly interrupted, especially since the sight of Craig's name and picture on her cell screen perked her up a lot more than she'd liked.

"Hello?" she answered, after the third ring, hoping to not seem desperate. She made sure that her tone was a lot mellow too.

"Ellie." He spoke, his voice low and stern. "Can you be here in a few hours?"

"What?" Ellie asked. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Just please… be here… please… I need you here." His voice was a little shaky.

"Craig, tell me what's going on?" Ellie's elated mood had quickly sunk to fear. He was scaring her.

"Ellie just do this for me, be here…"

Ellie was quiet for what felt like forever, contemplating what she should say.

"Okay, Craig… I'll-I'll be there."

"Thank you…" and with that, he hung up, leaving Ellie on the other line completely nerve stricken.

Nearly 2 hours after that, she was on the next flight out to L.A. She'd let Marco know where she was going and why, but only through text and right before boarding her plane so that he didn't have the chance to call and protest to what she was doing. Though he and Craig had mended fences since the last time she was in L.A., he was still pretty hesitant in letting him fully back into their lives. Ellie appreciated him always being there and looking out for her, but some things she just had to do on her own… and this was one of them.

The sun was just about up when she'd touched down at LAX. She'd only gotten about 20 minutes of sleep on the flight due to her nerves still doing cartwheels because of the call from Craig. Once she got her luggage, a little duffle bag with essentials packed (hygiene stuff, change of clothes and her laptop) and then managed to get a taxi, she was on her way to the condo developments on the beach. She still remembered the exact building, the exact door number. Next thing she knew, she was standing right outside his door, her bag in hand. She could hear, what sounded like the TV, blaring on the other side.

She raised her hand to knock, but before she even touched the door, Craig opened it. His hair was a mess, dark circles around his eyes… it was obvious he had gotten just as much rest as she did.

"Craig…" was all Ellie could say, seeing him there.

"Come in, please…" Craig stepped aside and let her walk through. She was hesitant for a moment then walked past him into the condo. Just as Ellie had thought, the TV was on, loud and blasting cartoons. Junk food was all over the coffee table and in the kitchen. Ellie wondered if he had some kind of party.

She set her bag down on the floor, and just as she'd turned to say something to Craig, he'd rushed towards her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you… so much for coming." He sighed, his voice tired. Ellie still didn't know what was going on, but she hugged him back, putting her arms around his shoulders.

"Craig, you have to tell me what's going on… I can't just up and leave like that because you call me to come running." Ellie said. He finally let her go. His red, sleepless eyes locked with her's for a moment.

"Come with me." He said. He took her hand and led her out of the living room and into the bedroom.

"Craig… what are you-" Ellie asked, noticing their destination. Before she could finish, she noticed his gaze was on something… his dresser. She looked. A silver tray with a pile of white, powdery substance on top, sat on the surface… it was coke. "Craig… you didn't…" He shook his head, brushing through his hair.

"No… uh I had some friends over last night… a friend… who knew about my… history. They went to use the bathroom then left and I came back in here and saw… this…"

"Oh my god… are you serious? Is it… is it real? Maybe it's just a joke…a sick, ass of a joke, but-"

"No… it's not, I know… they've wanted to get me back on it, see how I am… see how much fun I can really have." Craig was struggling to get the words out, Ellie could hear him holding back the urge to break out in tears. "I just… I've been in the living room, watching TV, reading, eating… I walked on the beach for I don't know how long… anything to get my mind off it… I just… I don't wanna go near it. I don't wanna touch it… I don't want anything to do with it… can you just please… please, get rid of it for me? Please?"

Ellie looked at him, studied him. Never had she seen him this tormented and completely beside himself about anything. Ellie knew how much progress he'd made in the past few months, and to have a friend come into your home, into your life, and intentionally try to ruin that progress to destroy you, was just something Ellie couldn't fathom. She couldn't imagine how broken Craig must've felt, how betrayed.

"Of course… go in the living room, lay down… I'll take care of it."

"Thank you… thank you," Craig hugged her tightly. He released, looking at her one more time then retreated back into the living room.

Ellie stood there for a moment, her eyes on him as he left. Her gaze then reverted back to the coke. The sight of it made her cringe. She walked over to the dresser, picked up the tray then headed into the bathroom. She poured the coke into the toilet then flushed… she watched as the drugs swirled away, away from existent and away from Craig.

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Chapter 2

Craig had hopped in the shower about an hour after Ellie got rid of the drugs. He still wasn't able to bring himself to sleep, despite the cocaine being far from sight. Ellie decided to work on the last few points in her paper and email her professors to let them know she wouldn't be able to make it into class that day, due to an emergency. Luckily it was a Friday and her profs that day were a lot more lenient with their lesson plans; plus Ellie was doing well in everything, so missing one day shouldn't have hurt her too much. She assured her journalism teacher that the paper would be emailed to her by 3 o' clock sharp, the exact same time of the class.

As Ellie typed away on her laptop, nearly reaching her second to last paragraph on the paper, Craig came into the living room, his hair scruffy and wet and now dressed in new clothes. The dark circles were still around his eyes, but his cleanliness made him look a lot livelier than he did an hour ago.

"Hey…" he said. She looked up at him.

"Hey… you have a… good shower?" she asked, a little nervous.

"Yeah… it was nice… much needed." Craig said, Ellie just nodded. It was quiet for a moment. "You… uh… working on something?

"Oh yeah…a paper that's due today… I'm gonna email it to my teacher once I'm done."

"Oh, El… I'm, I'm so, sorry… I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine… this is a lesson in procrastination… it's good, as long as you're better." Ellie said. Craig nodded. It was back to more awkward silence. "Craig, I have to ask… why, why did you ask me to come? I mean…clearly some of your friends here aren't the most reliable, but you have Joey… and where's Yvette? Is she out of town again?"

Craig didn't immediately respond. His head actually sunk a bit upon hearing the name.

"We… uh… broke up, El… a while ago… actually."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't know… you never-"

"I know, I know, I'm not mad or anything, it's just…I haven't really thought about her since… it wasn't a bad break up we… just decided to go our separate ways. Her whole modeling career was taking off… I was here most of the time… it just didn't…" Craig trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Ellie managed to say.

"Don't be… I asked you to come because, I knew you'd be here for me… you'd help me, you'd be strong for me… Joey would give me the third degree and be up my ass about having the right friends and… how what happened wouldn't have if I did. To be honest, he'd probably still be yelling at me… I didn't need a parent… I needed a friend. A really, really good friend."

Ellie took that in. A part of her wanted to smile and bask at the fact that she was the first person he could always call and rely on, but another part of her wanted to scream and punch herself in the face for still being that person after all this time.

"I understand." She eventually said. "But I hate to disappoint you… I am kinda curious… if you knew he was like that… your friend… why didn't you stop hanging out with him? Why did you keep-?"

"I don't have many friends here, El. You, Marco, Jimmy, Spin… you're all off living your own lives. You're not here in La La land with me… a guy needs company, I guess… wherever he can get it."

"Well, I'm sorry that's the only company you could find."

Craig chuckled a bit.

"You do realize it hasn't even been a full 3 minutes and you've apologized to me 3 times already?"

"Hmm… how the tables turn, I guess…"

"Well, tonight… I'm going to apologize to you in the best way ever!" Craig walked over to her, took her hands and pulled her off the couch. "Remember that little bistro I told you about? The one I love, the one I swore I would take you to, next time you were here?"

"Craig," Ellie sighed, knowing where this was going.

"I'm taking you, tonight! The place is pretty lively on Fridays… we'll have fun!"

"I don't have anything nice to wear. I only brought one change of clothes and I was gonna wear them tomorrow morning when I went back home."

"Well, then don't wear them tonight. I can take you out somewhere, buy you something new."

"You are not gonna sugar daddy your way into getting me to go to dinner with you."

"I bet you I can… it worked in _Pretty Woman_." Craig laughed. Ellie couldn't help but chuckle herself.

"Ugh, fine… fine… but I'm gonna pay you back."

"No you're not, I'm gonna pay you back. You flew all the way to L.A. last minute to help me... you didn't have to, but you did… I owe you, Ellie Nash. Deal with it." Craig flashed a smirk then headed back toward his bedroom. Before disappearing, he turned back to face her. "Now finish your paper, so we can go shopping!" He said, then paused, making the most disturbed face. "I really just said that… wow." He turned and went into the bedroom.

Ellie couldn't help but let the cheeriest smile come to her face… but then, it drifted away. Something unsettling had returned to the forefront of her mind. Would she always be this security blanket for him?

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

The little boutique Craig drove them out to was located in a shopping center about a mile away from the condo development. Surprisingly it had a few good options that Ellie could choose from; she wondered how he found out about the place, but then quickly realized he was probably dragged there a few times by Yvette. It didn't really bother her when that registered… mostly because the place had a lot of cute stuff she was into and didn't mind trying on. However, she didn't wanna get too much ahead of herself, seeing as they were only there to buy one dress.

"You know this might as well classify as our night out." Craig called from the other side of the changing room. Ellie was trying on a fourth dress.

"Well, I'm sorry… you should know better not to take a girl shopping in a major city!"

"You're right, I never learn. You mind if I head over next door and get an icy while you browse? I'm assuming this won't be the last dress you try on."

"Suit yourself, Manning." Ellie called back.

"Do you want one?" Craig said, as he started away from the changing area.

"No, thanks! Don't wanna spoil dinner."

"Alright well, I'll be back when I can… actually, no I won't, 'cause standing in here is making my brain boil. So, leave your phone on and text me when you're ready."

"Okay!" Ellie giggled. She heard Craig leave the changing area. Ellie was just putting on the straps to a black dress with red rose print on the front and back. She checked herself out in the body-length mirror, seeing how she liked the fit.

"Yeah… this definitely won't be the last dress…" she said, realizing she didn't like it that much. She reached in her jeans, hanging up on the rack, and pulled out her cell. She hadn't realized the thing had been turned off since she boarded the plane.

Ellie turned it on, ready to text Craig to give her 20 more minutes. As soon as she opened a text conversation with him, the phone buzzed for a good minute straight, bringing up several texts from Marco. "Oh god…" she sighed, imagining everything he could've possibly said. After sending the text to Craig, she opened Marco's messages - A total of ten came up, the last one being "Call me, you aggravating ginger!" she shook her head at the message then pressed the call button. She listened to the other side ring as she stepped out of her changing room and into the clothes display area of the store.

"Ellie!" Marco nearly shouted on the other line after the fourth ring.

"Yes, Marco." Ellie replied. She began sifting through some of the dresses on the racks.

"Why the hell are you in L.A.? It's a Friday, you have classes! What about your paper?"

"I got my paper finished and e-mailed to my prof, I'm good… and Craig needed me, so I came."

"What? Just like that? Needed you for what? Did he lose his guitar pick?"

"Oh c'mon, Marco, that isn't fair. He was in trouble and he needed my help."

"When you're in trouble you call the cops, not Inspector Nash! What kind of trouble?"

"Don't worry about it, it's settled, he's fine." Ellie was beyond annoyed, but she knew she'd hear all of this when she got back, so she figured to just let him go off on his angry inquisition now, rather than later.

"Okay, so when exactly are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow morning, Mother Marco… ooh, I like this one." Ellie accidentally said aloud as she found a dress.

"What? Where are you now?"

"Um…" she tried to think of something else to say, but she knew she was a terrible liar, even over the phone, and Marco could always sense it. "Okay, fine… I'm at a clothing store… buying a dress… we're going out to eat tonight."

"Wow!" Ellie could hear the judging in his voice. "So you mean to tell me, you flew all the way out to L.A. for some cheap hook-up with Craig because the guy was, lemme guess, feeling lonely?"

"Hey these dresses here are not cheap… and we're not hooking up… he just wanted to repay me for coming over and helping him. That's all, it's not a date, it's just a pay-me-back!" Ellie tucked the dress and two others in her arm and headed back into the changing room

"Huh… so the guy decides now to take you out on a date… as a sorry?"

"Why are you so against him?" Ellie closed the door and began slipping out the dress she was in and into one of the new ones. "You two are friends. I know you got into that little spat last time, but I thought you made up?"

"El, we did… and I still love Craig, he's one of my closest friends… but you are like a sister to me, and said close friend has hurt said sister various times. I know you had your moment last time in L.A., but I don't want you to get wrapped up in this guy again. We know how this ends, 'cause we've traveled down the same road over and over again."

"Those sounded like really bad song lyrics."

"Look, I just want you to be careful, okay? If you're there as his friend, be there as his friend… don't look any further into things. Just do what you have to do and come home… please."

Ellie was looking herself over in the mirror in the new dress, something about this one clicked.

"Yes… Marco, I will be the perfect Virgin Mary while I'm here, legs closed to all men with the name Craig Manning."

"That's sacrilegious, and Mary ended up pregnant."

"Goodbye, Marco!" Ellie ended the call then set the phone down on her other clothes. She was still looking at her reflection in the mirror. She really liked this one for some reason… so much that she didn't even think trying on the others was even necessary.

She scooped up her phone again and opened the text convo with Craig. She saw he'd put a crying face emoji in response to her other text, then typed "Actually, I think I might've found the right one. Return to me!" Then she followed that message up with a tongue out face.

Ellie looked back at herself wearing the dress, taking in the sight of how good she looked. Suddenly… she was even more excited for the night.

END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Alrighty readers, this is the longest chapter I've written thus far of this story... don't know if any other chapters will be as long, but for this portion of it I just really got into things and wanted to be as detailed as I could with Craig and Ellie's interaction. Keep reading and reviewing please! And Enjoy! :D**

As soon as Craig saw her in the new dress, Ellie realized why she loved it so much.

"Wow, Nash… you pretty much got the same dress." Craig said, looking her up and down as they met in Craig's living room before heading out.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking herself over.

"It's not the exact same one, but you wore something like it the night we played that wedding gig. Remember… you… Manny?"

"Oh god, and I threw the drumstick at her head… yeah." Ellie chuckled as it all started coming back to her. Craig was laughing himself. "I haven't worn that dress out since that night… I can't believe I had you waste money on something I pretty much already had."

"Well, like I said, it's not exactly the same." Craig offered, and he was right. This dress, though the black laces still flowed down the bottom, was shorter in length, coming just above her knees. The dress was also strapless like the other, but lacked the long sleeves that came down to her knuckles. Two laces held up the top half of the dress around the upper part of her arms instead.

"Still… I feel a little bad." Ellie pouted a bit.

"Don't, you look incredible, just like you did that night." Craig smiled.

"You look pretty good yourself, Mr. Manning." She said. Craig was dressed in a white button up shirt with an opened black suit jacket over top of it. He wore black slacks along with a pair of black loafers. His curls had been tousled neatly into place and the dark circles around his eyes seemed to have faded some... despite the fact that neither him nor Ellie managed to get much sleep. They took little cat naps before getting ready, him on the couch, her in his bed.

"Thank you, Miss. Nash." Craig said. Soon, he had his head held high, his shoulders back, chest out and an arm outstretched towards Ellie. "Shall we dine then?" He said in the best British accent he could pull off… not a very good one.

"We shall." Ellie said, not even bothering with the accent. She took his arm and the pair headed out of the condo.

…

"Damn, I shoulda asked you to buy me a pair of shoes too." Ellie muttered as she and Craig made their way through the restaurant with leading help from the hostess. It was a fancy little place, not caviar or tuna tar-tar fancy… just fancy enough for Ellie to feel a bit out of place for wearing a pair of black flats there.

"You're fine… no one is gonna be looking at your feet." Craig tried to assure her. "And if they are… they're weirdos…" Ellie giggled at that.

"And here you are!" The hostess said as she brought them to their table. It was almost smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. Craig pulled out Ellie's chair, she sat down, then he took his own seat across from her. The hostess set their menus in front of them. "Your waitress will arrive shortly to take your orders. Enjoy your meals, Mr. and Mrs. Manning!" and with that, the hostess walked off.

"Wow… the first time anyone's ever thought I was old enough to be married."

"Sorry about that… I had to make reservations, they probably just assumed-"

"It's okay, Craig…" Ellie sent a reassuring smile his way as she scooped up her menu to look it over it. "Geez, the prices. How exactly did you find this place?"

"Oh… I was wondering around when I first moved here. The meals weren't exactly in my price range then… but I made a promise to myself that one day… I'd be the kind of guy who could eat here."

"I hope you're not the kind of guy who orders the almost 40 dollar sirloin." Ellie's eyes were almost bugging out of her head when she saw that price.

"Oh, I've had that twice!" Craig said in a giddy way. He and Ellie laughed.

"Well I'm happy to see that things are going good for you."

"Thank you… I am too. I've been working… playing gigs, meeting with new record producers. Hope to start working on my second album at least by this summer."

"That's really amazing, Craig… I'm proud of you."

"What about you? Still editor and chief of the Core?"

"You know it. Journalism is my calling. I don't wanna brag and say that the paper has been doing so much better since Jesse left but…. Who am I kidding? It's totally been way better." Ellie said cheerfully. Craig smiled; he always loved her enthusiasm about writing. "I'm actually doing this really incredible journalism internship with the editor and chief of Teen Vogue over the summer in New York City."

"Really? The studio I might be recording some of my stuff in is in the city."

"Huh, well maybe we'll run into each other!"

"Yeah, maybe." They held the happiest smiles on each for what felt like forever, and then the waitress came along.

"Hi, welcome to The Reynolds! I'm your waitress, April. What can I get you two to drink?" She asked. Craig nodded to Ellie to go first.

"Do you have sprite or Pepsi?"

"We're out of sprite, unfortunately, but we have ginger ale. And no to the Pepsi, we only carry co-"

"Ah! Okay!" Ellie said quickly, catching on fast to what she was about to say. "Umm, a ginger ale then? Yeah?"

"Okay," the waitress nodded then turned to Craig, who had a raised brow at a slightly uncomfortable looking Ellie. "What about you, Hun?"

"Umm… a ginger ale too, please."

"Kay! Coming right up!" the waiter walked off. It was quiet at the table for a moment.

"You didn't have to do that, El." Craig said, realizing she wasn't going to speak up first. "I can hear the word coke… I just can't sniff the actual substance."

"I'm sorry… I wasn't think-"

"No, tonight is a night where the word 'sorry' doesn't come out of your mouth… tonight Ellie Nash says what she wants, how she feels… and never follows it up with a 'sorry.' Got it?"

Ellie nodded, laughing at him a bit. After all, when she thought about it… in what alternate universe was it necessary for her to say "sorry" almost a thousand times and NOT Craig Manning?

…

Craig had ordered the almost 40 dollar sirloin steak (for his third time), and Ellie, the meal sized chicken Caesar salad. Craig nearly begged her to get the steak or the restaurant's (almost) 40 dollar salmon dish, but Ellie simply refused, plus she was feeling a salad anyway. She'd already mentally convinced herself that if she ate anything that cost as much as the steak or salmon, she would've lost her appetite altogether.

During dinner, the two talked about almost everything they hadn't since their last conversation over texts, and, of course, revisited things that they already had. Ellie told Craig about the progress her dad was making with counseling and how him and her mother were getting along better than ever, it seemed. They bought a cat. Craig told her how he'd done some more travelling. He'd revisited parts in Europe and actually ran into Ashley. He discovered she was a bit more fluent in Italian and had a boyfriend that resembled one of the guys from Jersey Shore… but with a thicker accent, and surprisingly, less of a douche bag than the guys on the show. They had talked about everything it seemed… everything except that one little detail that actually brought them together in L.A., once more.

"So your friend… you said his is name was Danny, right?" Ellie piped up. "What are you gonna do about him? 'Cause, clearly, he can't be in your life anymore… that's a given."

"Ellie."

"I mean, I haven't even met the guy and he sounds like the spawn of Satan… seriously."

"Ellie… I got it under control, okay. Danny will no longer be in my life, my condo… my anything. He's not even allowed within breathing distance of me… if need be, I can get a restraining order, eh?"

"That sounds delightful… you should look into that!" Ellie said, taking the last bite of her salad. Craig had finished his steak a few minutes ago.

Suddenly there was a tapping sound coming from somewhere Ellie couldn't see. She looked around and noticed that there was a stage a bit a distance from their table. A man in his mid 30's, dressed up in a suit was tapping on the microphone at its stand.

"Hello, patrons of The Reynolds!" he spoke into the mic after realizing it was working. "I'm Ian Reynolds; some of you may or not know, I'm the co-owner of this restaurant with my father."

"That's the guy you waved to a few times tonight." Ellie noted upon seeing him.

"Yep, we're kinda friends, actually." Craig replied.

"Since we were unable to book a band for tonight, and you've, unfortunately, been listening to some of my father's very old jazz records this evening… I thought it'd be nice to treat you all to something a little different. Tonight we have a musician in the house… he's from Toronto and he moved out here some months ago. The guy has pretty much stalked this place ever since and we've become somewhat good friends.

"Eh, somewhat," Craig mouthed to Ian, flipping his hand back and forth. They laughed.

"So I welcome my somewhat friend/rockstar… Craig Manning!"

The patrons in the restaurant clapped.

"I didn't know you were gonna perform here." Ellie said, her eyes and her smile both bright.

"Well it wouldn't have been a surprise if you did." Craig winked then stood from his seat. He made his way up to the stage and shook Ian's hand once he reached him. Ian pulled out an acoustic guitar from behind the piano on stage and handed it to Craig. Craig settled the strap around his shoulder then nestled the guitar comfortably in his grasp. Ian left the stage to him.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Craig… and I know Ian kinda introduced me as a rockstar… but I'm pretty well rounded in my musical endeavors, I'd say… and by well rounded, I mean soft rock too… but…"

The people laughed.

"Regardless, I hope to be working on my second studio album soon, and this is a song I'd like to have featured on it. My cover of The Rolling Stones' song, 'Wild Horses.' I hope you enjoy." And with that, Craig strummed the guitar.

"_Childhood living is easy to do__  
__The things you wanted I bought them for you__  
__Graceless lady you know who I am__  
__You know I can't let you slide through my hands_

_Wild horses, couldn't drag me away__  
__Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away_"

"Craig, you know I have no rhythm… I suck at walking half the time!" Ellie protested as Craig tried to get her out on the dance floor.

"No, Nash, you're getting up. You're dancing!"

"Craig…"

"C'mon" Craig took her hands and guided her out on the dance floor with everyone else. Just as they were getting somewhat in the groove of the music playing, the upbeat jazz song transitioned into a much slower one. Couples embraced one another and slow danced. "Well?" Craig said, holding out a hand.

"I told you… my rhythm sucks…"

"Well… then just follow me… I'll guide you."

Ellie looked him over hesitantly, for just a moment. And then… she took his hand.

"_I watched you suffer a dull aching pain__  
__Now you decided to show me the same__  
__No sweeping exits or off stage lines__  
__Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind_

_Wild horses, couldn't drag me away__  
__Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away"_

"It must've been pretty peaceful out here last night." Ellie said, her bare toes sunken in the sand. She and Craig stood on the beach, gazing out at the moonlit ocean in front of them. They just listened to the waves go back and forth, the night wind breezing past them.

"It was, but I was too busy being un-peaceful, I guess, to even notice for a minute… I just wanted to get away from the… drugs." Craig said the last bit a little uneasily. "But then I stopped… I listened to the waves, heard them brushing against the shore… and then I thought of you… I thought about the time we spent out here… and then I realized you were the one I could call…"

" _I know I've dreamed you a sin and a lie__  
__I have my freedom but I don't have much time__  
__Faith has been broken tears must be cried__  
__Let's do some living after we die…_

_Wild horses, couldn't drag me away__  
__Wild, wild horses we'll ride them someday" _

It was nearly 2 in the morning, ironically, when Ellie and Craig finally returned to the condo. The place was nearly dark, the only source of light being the moon shining into the windows.

"God, it's late." Craig muttered. "Umm… you're welcome to sleep in my bed, and I can take the couch."

"Craig…" Ellie turned to face him.

"You have a flight to catch in the morning and… you still haven't gotten much sleep. I'd rather you get good sleep here than on a-"

"Craig…"

"Huh?"

"Remember, at dinner you said that… tonight was the night that I could say anything that I wanted… without having to follow it up with a sorry? Well… I have something to say…" Ellie was inching closer to him, their gazes locked onto each other. "Ever since I got here, yesterday morning, I-"

Craig didn't let her finish. He grabbed her and kissed her hard, the hardest and most passionate he'd ever kissed anyone. He pulled away.

"I was in bad shape when you got here, El." Craig said, stilling gazing in her eyes. "But as soon as I saw you… things were clear… clearer than they had ever been in those long hours before you got here… and I wanted to kiss you so bad."

"Then shut up and keep doing it." Ellie grabbed him this time and kissed him. The two made their way into the bedroom, not letting go of each other.

"_Wild__ horses, couldn't drag me away__  
__Wild, wild horses we'll ride them someday"_


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had just fully risen outside the bedroom window by the time Ellie squinted her eyes open. She was nestled in Craig's arms, the silk sheets over their, pretty much, naked bodies. Ellie had kept her bra on and Craig… well Craig only had a sock on his left foot and nothing else. Part of Ellie couldn't believe she'd done this; Ellie Nash wasn't the "hook-up" type of girl, she'd only slept with two other guys. The first, unfortunately, was Jesse and the second was a guy named Mark, who she tried dating a couple weeks after returning from L.A. It went on for almost a month and a half before Ellie called it off, realizing they had absolutely nothing in common. They only had sex once and it was probably one of the most awkward and difficult things Ellie had regrettably put herself through. She swore they would never to do it again.

However, something about this was different, her and Craig sleeping together. It didn't feel like some cheap hook-up; something about it felt real, it felt right, like everything they had been through as friends, the good and the bad, had all been leading up to the previous night. Nothing was awkward or out of place; it was as if they had already been at that stage in their relationship, as if they knew each other's bodies, how to touch and caress the other, how to make one another feel comfortable, yet completely and utterly enthralled in ecstasy.

Ellie and Jesse had had sex numerous times before, but nothing about those occasions ever fully felt right. Sure, at times, it felt good… but there was always something missing… passion.

Ellie sighed as she leaned over to look at the alarm clock on the end table next to the bed. It was 11:15 in the morning.

"Oh crap…" she groaned, laying her head back on Craig's chest. He had moved just a bit, stroking her hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes still closed and his voice a bit hoarse.

"My flight took off at 8:30 this morning."

"What time is it now?"

"11:15."

"Aww… so that means you have to stay longer?" Craig opened his eyes, gazing down at her happily.

"I guess so." She smiled. They leaned in and kissed each other.

…

Ellie sat at the island counter in Craig's kitchen, his white dress shirt buttoned up on her. She clicked on her cellphone, which she found underneath Craig's pants once they finally got out of bed. Again she was greeted with a text message from Marco, luckily it was just one. "Text me when you get in, I'll pick you up from the airport," it read.

"Oh god…" she sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. She'd forgotten she told him she'd be back that day, and based on the last time they spoke, she knew her friend wouldn't be too happy to hear that she missed her flight to knock boots with Craig Manning. She could hear him now, yelling at her, cursing the Manning name and how she'd fallen back into his "mantrap."

"What's wrong?" Craig asked as he entered the kitchen from his bedroom, putting on a black Radiohead t-shirt above his light blue jeans and socks. He'd just gotten out the shower.

"I… uh… got a text from Marco. He wanted me to let him know when I got in so he could get me from the airport."

"Tell him it got delayed and you're staying an extra day." Craig offered.

"Marco would know I was lying… he always does. Plus, he was pretty gung ho on me coming back ASAP when I spoke to him yesterday."

"Why's that?" Craig asked. Ellie started to speak, but then realized it probably wouldn't have looked too good to tell Craig that one of his best friends, since grade 10, still never fully regained his trust after the coke incident.

"Umm… just… he wants me back in time for school. I have this big test on Monday, and-"

"He didn't want you here with me? Still kinda uneasy about our relationship after… well, everything?" Craig said, almost taking the words right out of her mouth. Ellie just nodded. To her surprise, Craig smiled a bit. "Look… I get it, he's your best friend and he cares about you. With our track record, I wouldn't want you to be here with me either if I were him… but," Craig took Ellie's hands in his. "You're here with me, right here and right now… and trust me, I have no intentions of hurting you. Last night was one of the best nights of my life… and not just because of-"

"The amazing sex?" Ellie offered, proudly.

"Well, I was gonna go the cheesy route and say the love making, but… amazing sex works too. I had a great time, I enjoyed spending time with you, and I'm loving the sight of you in my shirt. I don't wanna mess that up, okay?"

Ellie looked at him, really looked at him. She saw that glimmer in his eyes, that look of happiness that she hadn't seen in forever… then she looked down and noticed his attire.

"Why are you dressed? Are we not going back to bed?" she asked, a little disappointed at the thought.

"We are… but later… I have yet another way I'd like to thank you."

"Oh god, we're not going to some expensive brunch mansion are we?" Ellie said, half joking, half serious. Craig chuckled.

"No, no… I am, however, going to cook you breakfast… well, it'll be brunch, but still."

"You cook?"

"I've developed…skills." Craig started, heading to his sneakers next to the door. He put them on like a giddy little child, Ellie noticed. "It's a hidden talent of mine and I've decided to expand my horizons!"

"Well I hope your expanding horizons don't involve me choking on an egg shell."

"Burn, Nash… burn." Craig pouted, walking back over to her. They laughed. "I'm gonna head out, get the stuff I need and be right back." Craig said. Ellie grinned, putting her hands on his cheeks and bringing him in for a kiss. A moment passed, they released, their faces still close. "You should probably work on that morning breath, Nash."

"Yeeahhh… I'm gonna take care of that while you're gone." Ellie muttered a bit sheepishly. Craig chuckled, pecked her on the forehead then headed out the condo. Ellie looked after him for a moment, a grin on her face… then she put a hand over her mouth, blew out and sniffed. "Oh god, why did he even kiss?!" Ellie hopped off the stool and headed straight for the bathroom.

…

After taking a good 15 minute, hot shower, and brushing away the unwanted plaque and morning breath form her mouth, Ellie moved into Craig's bedroom for her duffle bag. She slipped on her bra and underwear and then the other change of clothes she'd brought with her. A cream colored cut off shirt, that came just at her navel, and a pair of black leggings. Ellie started to pull up her wet hair in a ponytail, then she heard a knock from the living room. She didn't move, making sure what she heard wasn't her bumping into something and not noticing. A moment later, the knock came again.

Ellie left the bedroom and went out into the living room, her wet hair sprawled out on her shoulders. She peaked through the peephole of the front door; all she saw was the back of a blonde girl's head. Hesitant and confused, she opened it; the blonde turned to face her as she did. She had blue eyes, messy dark eye shadow and a purple t-shirt accompanied by a denim skirt and some boots. She looked surprised to see Ellie.

"Umm… can I help you?" Ellie asked.

"And who the hell are you?" The girl sneered, looking her up and down.

"I'm Ellie… a friend of Craig's." Ellie gave her a small wave. The blonde nodded, a look of understanding and a menacing smile creeping onto her face.

"Ahh… you're Ellie!" she said as she walked past her into the condo. Ellie hadn't even known the girl that long and she already had the urge to punch her.

"Yes, I'm Ellie… and who are you, walking into my friend's condo like you own the place?"

"Oh… my bad, I guess. Name's Dani!" she said. Ellie tensed up a bit, remembering Danny was the name of Craig's friend… the one he told her brought him the drugs the other night.

"I'm sorry. Dani? As in-"

"It's short for Danielle… people call me Dani." She shrugged. "Nice to meet you, Ellie… I must say, it's a pleasure."

Ellie was speechless. Was this the "Danny" Craig had told her about? Danielle?


	6. Chapter 6

"Girl, do you plan on closing your mouth? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Danielle said, looking at Ellie as if she was the most disfigured thing in the room. Ellie was still in shock by the fact that the girl she was laying eyes on was the Dani that Craig had told her about.

"I'm sorry… I just… you're a girl…" Ellie managed to say.

"Last time, I checked. What' the big…" a smile began to form across Danielle's lips. "Lemme guess, Craig told you about a Dani… and you assumed I was a dude?" she offered. "Or did Craig not specify, and he allowed you to think I was a dude?" Ellie didn't say anything. Danielle chuckled a bit then walked over and sat on one of the bar stools, crossing her legs. "So what did Craig tell you about little 'ole me?"

A look of disgust and utter hate came to Ellie's face. Despite Dani's gender, she'd done something pretty messed up to Ellie's friend, yet here she was, sitting casually and smiling like rainbows came out of her ass.

"He told me how you left coke in his bedroom. You wanted to see how crazy and wild he could get." Ellie was shaking. "You left your little party favor then dipped, leaving him to deal with it." She finished. Danielle laughed a little bit louder after that. "I'm glad you find the fact that you're a cold bitch so funny."

"It's not that, it's just… wow, Ellie. You never learn." She giggled.

"Excuse me? You don't know me." Ellie's voice was trembling.

"No, but I've heard the stories… every single one. I would think that after a couple years of the same old same old, you'd catch on and not fall so easily for Craig's bull."

"Shut up." Ellie said, sternly. Danielle just smiled. She moved off the stool and walked just a bit closer to Ellie.

"So is that all he told you, about me?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"That's all I need to know…" Ellie said, though she knew she was lying to herself.

"Hmm… well then little red, I guess you should take a seat, cause there's much more to that story that I'm sure Mr. Manning failed to tell you."

…

Craig was never one to be excited about cooking; his usual meals consisted of TV dinners, delivery pizzas or Chinese takeout. After him and Yvette split, cooking was never really an option anymore at casa de Manning; she'd taken care of the culinary aspect of their relationship. However, she did manage to teach him some skills along the way, and he was confident enough to try out what he knew for Ellie's brunch.

It wasn't going to be anything too difficult (he'd hoped). An omelet or two, some pancakes (from scratch), sausage and eggs and his personal take of the hash brown. Craig just wanted to do something nice for Ellie, to show that he cared and that he was grateful for everything she'd done for him; not just coming out to L.A. because he needed her, but for everything else. He knew that there was no amount of fancy dates or self prepared meals that could measure up to how much she'd helped him… which was why he felt so horrible about not being fully honest with her from the beginning.

There was still so much about Craig's life in L.A. that Ellie didn't know about, and he wanted so bad to tell her the night that she arrived in town, but he just couldn't. He figured during brunch would be the best time, they'd sit down and talk; a nice, honest talk for once. Craig swore that he would never lie to her again and he was going to make good on that front.

Craig, with groceries in hand, anxiously made his way up to the door of his condo. He put down some of bags and dug in his pocket for his keys. He clicked the door open and headed in.

"Soo… I have a little surprise," he started, turning around to pick up the groceries he'd set down. "You are going to experience the Deluxe, Manning hash-" Craig stopped immediately. His stomach tensed, his legs grew weak. Ellie and Danielle were sitting on the couch, eyes on him. Ellie was clearly heated, and Dani had that same smile on her face; that conniving, evil smile he hated. "Danielle…" was all Craig could muster.

Danielle stood up from the couch and made her way over to him.

"It's Dani…" she corrected, and with that, she headed out the condo, closing the door behind her.

The room was dead silent. Craig looked at Ellie; she was fighting back tears through her seething glare.

"El… I can explain." He said. Ellie stood from the couch.

"Don't bother. I'm getting my stuff and I'm going back home, tonight." Ellie made her way into the bedroom.

Craig dropped the groceries and chased after her.

END OF CHAPTER 6

**A-N**: All will be revealed in Chapter 7! Stay Tuned!


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie rushed into Craig's bedroom and snatched up her duffle bag, shoving in any clothes that were her's or looked like her's, into it. She was consumed by blind rage and sorrow, fighting back tears and the urge to punch something.

"Ellie!" Craig called as she entered the room the behind her. Ellie snatched another article of clothing off the floor and put it in the bag, completely ignoring him. "Ellie! Please, just turn around… look at me!" Craig nearly begged. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Ellie dropped the duffle bag, spun around and pushed him away. Craig was surprised by the force behind the blow; he nearly crashed into the dresser.

"What is it about me? Really, what? Please tell me!" she demanded.

"What do you… what do you mean?" Craig hesitantly asked.

"Why do guys feel the need to… to lie to me… why do YOU feel the need to lie to me over and over again?!" Ellie paused for a moment, thinking about the question herself. "Why do I continue to fall for it… every single… damn time?!" Ellie picked up a piece of clothing, one she wasn't even sure was her's, and threw it at Craig. He pushed it away and it the floor.

"What did Danielle tell you?" Craig asked.

"Danielle? Don't you mean _Dani_?" Ellie retorted.

"El…" Craig muttered. "Just…"

"What does it matter what she told me, Craig… you didn't! You always manage to lie and warp the truth, and here I am, like the pathetic school girl, believing every single word you say!"

"Ellie…"

"I know about your little side job… your gigs. You and Dani sold drugs… not just locally or around the block… all over the damn world! Those times you told me you traveled, saw places you could only dream about… you were doing jobs. Transporting god knows what… and sleeping with your partner in crime, Dani, in the meantime."

"El… it's not…I wanted to tell you everything; I wanted to explain my side of things."

"What was there to explain, Craig? You got desperate?! You needed money so you joined an international drug cartel?! That's your struggle? That's your side?! Cause I have no sympathy for you whatsoever!"

"Ellie… please… look. I'm done okay… I'm out of the entire thing, I swear!" Craig said. Ellie was silent, her eyes drifted over to the dress that he'd bought for her the previous day. Ellie had made sure, that night, it was hung up neatly on the bedroom door handle.

"That dress... did you use the money from your little jobs to get it?" Ellie's voice was quivering.

"C'mon… don't…"

"What about that bistro last night? You use any of that money to pay for my food?" Ellie couldn't hold back the tears any longer; they were streaming down her face. "Were you gonna use that money to pay for my plane ticket back home? Huh, Craig? Were you?" Ellie said. Craig was speechless. He looked away from Ellie to the carpet floor; he couldn't bear to see her like this. Once again… he had majorly screwed up… and he was sure there was no coming back from it. Tears began to well in his eyes. "That's what I thought…" Ellie eventually said. She wiped what tears she could from her eyes. "I don't need your drug money…"

Ellie walked off into the bathroom, gathered her hygiene supplies then returned to the bedroom to put them in the duffle bag.

"Please don't leave… please just don't… I wanna talk." Were all the words Craig could muster. Ellie sniffled a bit. Her tear stained face was now just still and emotionless as ever as she looked up to him.

"I don't ever wanna talk to you… I don't ever wanna see you. Craig Manning… for all I know, you're dead to me…" Ellie left out the bedroom.

Ellie scooped up her already packed laptop bag then headed for the front door. Her hand was just on the knob when Craig had finally stepped out of the bedroom into the living room.

"Ellie, I love you…" tears were pouring from his eyes now, his voice was shaky and nearly unrecognizable. "Please just don't leave me… I don't have anyone else. Please!"

Ellie stood there, her back to Craig, her hand still resting on the doorknob. She fought back yet another urge to cry and scream, but then she turned the handle and left the apartment. Craig sank to the floor, hitting himself in head, pulling at his hair. He stopped, his lips quivering, the tears in his eyes building even more. He gave in and just began to sob, his head in his hands. He was alone.

…

Ellie always had the address saved in her phone, and she'd hoped the time she'd finally come to visit would be under good terms… but this, this mess… it was nowhere near good. Ellie needed a friend, someone to cry to, to vent to, to scream at and get all the anger out that she could. Marco was back home, and she didn't feel like calling to hear his "I told you so's," or any of his other smart remarks that would make Ellie want to hang up on him. She just needed someone who was close by, someone who would listen... Ellie knocked on the door to the apartment, a few moments later, it swung open.

"Hun! What are you-?" the blonde girl on the other side of the door started. Before she could even get her sentence out, Ellie dropped her bags, hugged her and started crying all over again.

Paige Michalchuk probably wasn't the perfect candidate, but she would have to do for today.

END OF CHAPTER 7

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Thank you all soooo much for the amazing feedback, you're really inspiring me to keep this one going! I will definitely be expounding a lot more on Craig's drug cartel stint with Dani. That aspect of this story is only getting started! And, I must say, I was just a little bit inspired by the Netflix show "Orange is the New Black" lol, but stay tuned and keep the good feedback coming!


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